This invention concerns a fire- or flame-resistant shoe, in particular, a boot for firefighters, with a protective function against contaminants, especially chemical toxins, as disclosed herein, in particular for fire control use in a chemically or biologically contaminated region or sphere of application.
People who are active in the field of firefighting, such as firefighters, are often exposed to adverse ambient or environmental conditions during deployment. For instance, very high temperatures frequently prevail at the deployment site and toxic substances frequently form, in particular due to the effect of fire, and those being deployed must be protected from them. This is particularly true in deployments in large scale fires, especially in chemical plants, in which a large number of sometimes highly toxic substances can be released. People such as firefighters who come into contact with toxic substances like chemical toxins must wear suitable chemical equipment that has good flame or fire resistance on the one hand and a protective function against toxic substances on the other.
Here, care should be taken in particular that the feet are also sufficiently protected against the effect of the fire and toxic substances like chemical toxins. In particular, such a protective shoe must be suitable for use in fighting fires and decontamination. According to the prior art, in firefighting, boots are worn for this purpose that generally have the crucial disadvantage that frequently neither measures for significant improvement of the flame-inhibiting or fire-resistant properties and thus protection against high temperatures, nor measures nor means are provided with which the passage of chemical or biological toxins through the boot material is efficiently and effectively stopped. Thus, effective protection against chemical or biological toxins is not always guaranteed with the shoe in accordance with the prior art, and the flame resistance is not always satisfactory, so that such footwear cannot always guarantee optimum protection in use.
For instance, DE 196 24 553 A1 concerns a boot with a foot section and a boot leg, which has a special lacing/lacing connector, with which a undesirable loosening of the lacing/lacing connector is said to be avoided when worn and, in addition, when worn, the boot is supposed to lie tightly against the foot even when flexed. Special measures to improve the fire- or flame-inhibiting properties or targeted measures to improve the protective function against contaminants like chemical toxins are not envisioned in said document.
DE 295 04 365 U1 concerns a boot that has a sloping instep section that takes a foot section in the front into a boot leg where the instep section is covered by an unbreakable and rigid cover. This is said to improve the protection against accidents, since the cover is supposed to be capable of absorbing higher forces. Special measures to improve the fire or flame resistance and protect against contaminants are also not mentioned in said document.
In addition, DE 41 23 088 A1 concerns a method for producing heat-resistant boots, in which a sole is assembled to the leg of the boot by a special connection using pressure molds. This document primarily focuses on a heat-stable embodiment of the adhesive connection between the sole and the boot.
DE 201 16 043 U1 concerns a protective boot for firefighters made of a conventional boot material, which is supposed to be more easily put on and taken off because of the use of a stretchable fold in the instep region. Said document envisions a textile material that is optionally coated with a polyurethane, silicone or plastic as the material for the stretchable fold. Providing the rest of the shoe region with protection against contaminants is not envisioned in this document.
In addition, DE 295 06 366 U1 concerns a closed protective boot, whose vamp and quarter are each made in a single piece, due to which the boot leg is supposed to be watertight up to the height of the ankle due to the presence of fewer stitches and, moreover, the protective boot is supposed to be able to be slipped on quickly. In this document, too, there are no measures to make the upper material of the boot fire- or flame-inhibiting nor to provide the protective boot with improved protection against contaminants.
Finally, DE 691 31 464 T2 concerns a protective shoe arrangement that is said to be suitable for firefighters as well, in which a protective insert forms an integrated capsule to protect the sole, heel and toes of the foot. Thus, this document primarily focuses on a physical protective function with respect to the foot of the wearer, since the wearer is supposed to be protected against the effect of high forces.
Thus, all in all, there are no boots known from the prior art, in particular, no boots for firefighters, that provide a high protective function against toxic substances, especially chemical toxins, while at the same time being provided with fire- or flame resistance. Accordingly, it is not always guaranteed in the prior art that the footwear described there will satisfy the high demands made in firefighting and decontamination.
This invention therefore is based on the task of making available a fire- or flame-resistant shoe, in particular a boot for firefighters, that is particularly suitable for use in firefighting or decontamination and that at least in part avoids or at least diminishes the disadvantages of the prior art that were described above.
To solve the described task, this invention proposes a fire- or flame-resistant shoe, in particular a boot for firefighters, in accordance with Claim 1. Other advantageous embodiments of the fire- or flame-resistant shoe in accordance with the invention are objects of the dependent claims.
One aspect of this invention is to be seen in the fact that the fire- or flame-resistant shoe is additionally provided with a fire- or flame-inhibiting coating or impregnation. This ensures that the shoe is also resistant at high temperatures and under the effect of flames or fire, as often arise within the scope of fighting fires, and it effectively protects the wearer of the shoe against the effect of high heat or burns. The fire- or flame-resistant properties of the shoe in accordance with the invention can be achieved, for example, by the fact that a special fire- or flame-inhibiting coating or impregnation, for example one based on phosphoric acid compounds, metal salts or fluorinated polymers, is used, in particular in combination with a poorly flammable material such as a leather and/or a poorly flammable textile material. An especially effective fire- or flame resistance is obtained through this, so that the shoe in accordance with the invention is excellently suitable for use in firefighting.
Another aspect of the invention that is realized in combination with said measures lies in a fire- or flame-resistant shoe, in particular a boot for firefighters, with a multilayer structure, which includes an outer layer that is turned away from the foot when the shoe is worn and an inner layer integrated with the outer layer and turned toward the foot when the shoe is worn, in particular, a shoe inner liner, that is also provided with a protective function against contaminants like chemical toxins (i.e., in addition to the fire- or flame-resistance) by providing or arranging an additional adsorption layer based on an adsorption material that adsorbs toxic substances, in particular, activated carbon, between the outer layer and the inner layer. In this way, contaminants that may have penetrated through the outer layer of the shoe, in particular, chemical toxins, cannot come into contact with the foot, since they can be absorbed or adsorbed by the adsorption material, in particular, the activated carbon, of the adsorption layer and in this way, made harmless.